Modern rotary aircraft are widely recognized as providing great versatility and unique capabilities in both military and civilian applications. Favored for their ability to take off and land without runways, and for their ability to hover, maneuver, and perform missions unachievable by other types of aircraft, rotary aircraft represent a vital component of a modern military arsenal. Similarly, rotary aircraft have become an integral part of the efficient operations in many civilian environments, including transportation of employees and equipment into remote locations, reporting activities by television and radio broadcasting companies, emergency medical transportation services, and law enforcement activities by civilian authorities.
Although desirable results have been achieved using prior art rotary aircraft, there is room for improvement. For example, for some applications, it may be desirable to attach auxiliary fuel tanks to a rotary aircraft, such as a helicopter, in order to increase its range or time aloft. In one particular example, a Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter may have pannier-style fuel tanks attached to each side of its fuselage to increase the helicopter's range. Typically, since the overall height of the tank is limited by other considerations, the overall width of the combination of fuselage and auxiliary tanks is significantly increased to achieve the desired capacity. Consequently, due to increased flowfield interactions between the rotor downwash and the combination of fuselage and auxiliary tanks, the aerodynamic downloads are increased, and the maximum hover takeoff gross weight, and hence payload capability, is reduced. Efforts directed toward reshaping the tanks to achieve a reduced vertical drag coefficient have been only marginally successful. Therefore, novel systems and methods that more successfully mitigate these download effects would have utility.